Salvation
by DarkAngelLillith
Summary: Prowl is injured and Jazz has to take care of him and find a way to slip past the Decepticons before they are found.
1. Ambushed

**Disclaimer:** Transformers do not belong to me.

**A/N: **Written for NineCrow who requested a Prowl/Jazz/purge fic. This fic will have two (three at most) more chapters.

**A/N2: **My first fic with a 'normal' slash pairing. Though this one is more like pre-slash than slash I think I'm going to mark this night on my calendar. Would you believe that I wrote like four different fics for this request. This is the one I liked the most. I hope I don't disappoint. XD Like always, tell me of my mistakes and they will be fixed as soon as possible.

"talking"

/comm/

(line)-change of location

* * *

_**Ambushed**_

One more step. That was all he could think about at the moment. Just one more step. And one more step. And one more step. Over and over again. Because if he thought of anything else his resolve would crumble. Willpower alone wouldn't save them… Not if he couldn't concentrate.

The sound was unmistakable... Jet engines were getting closer. Jazz cursed; he knew his distraction wouldn't last forever, but he'd hoped to have more time. If he could get to the forest maybe they stood a chance. He gripped harder the unconscious form of his best friend and concentrated on reaching his goal. One step before the other. One more step. He was almost there and hopefully the trees would cover them. Just one more slagging step and…

Guns fired and Jazz only thought of protecting the unconscious mech. Without thinking, the Porsche threw the mech he'd been carrying far enough to reach his planned cover. He followed after his friend, jumping on top of him. Willing to be the one to take the shots fired in their direction.

Primus finally smiled on them because none of the shots hit them. He could hear the triad returning and he hurried to drag both him and his friend inside the woods. When Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp turned to fire on the Autobots, they only managed to encounter traces of spilled energon and drag marks.

/Starscream to base./

/Base here./

/Soundwave, go tell our _illustrious_ leader that _I_ managed to corner not one, but _two_ Autobot officers./

Thundercracker frowned, but remained silent, while Skywarp's loud, "YOU cornered them? TC and I helped trap their afts too. Who the frag You think you are? Reflector? Because I damn well refuse to be thought of as your component, Screamer. "

The purple Seeker would've said more, but Thundercracker's well placed hand on his mouth components stopped him.

/Reinforcements on the way. Instructions: circle around perimeter to prevent escape./

/Very well. If we must./

Starscream's resigned answer surprised the two Seekers into complete silence. Starscream sneered at them before silently transforming and, for once, doing as instructed. Megatron's orders be damned, if he found a way to kill them and take the glory of having both Jazz and Prowl under_ his_ kills he could prove to the other Decepticons once and for all who the strongest mech truly was. And if he couldn't be the one to kill them… Well, he wasn't Second for nothing. He knew that getting those two out of the way was crucial. He just needed to think of a way to get the glory to himself.

* * *

"Prowl? Come on, buddy, get up. Online for me, please?"

Jazz slapped the helm of the other black and white. He wasn't Ratchet, but he had a medical kit with him at all times. Too many years serving as a Special Ops. agent had made him paranoid and he was never without a fully stocked kit. Not even on the Ark. He also kept his field repair knowledge up to date, but nothing he did brought the tactician online. They didn't have much time to think of something to get them out.

Jazz had the horrifying thought of the Decepticons burning the woods down to get them. They needed to get out. And they needed to get out without anyone seeing them. Normally, Jazz would not be so worried, but Prowl wasn't responding and he already repaired everything he thought needed repairing.

"Damnit, Prowl!" he wished he could scream, but he had to settle with one hard slap which earned him a pained groan. Jazz laughed nervously as he stared at the dim blue optics of the Datsun.

"Thought I was gonna have to kiss ya awake, sleeping beauty," the saboteur told him and Prowl frowned. Jazz wondered what was wrong, when Prowl turned away quickly.

The black and white's door wings shook and he made a gagging sound that had Jazz moving again to his side.

"Slag, Prowl. What's…"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Optics brightening in apprehension when Jazz heard it. To anyone else it might've gone unnoticed, but the woods had gone quiet around them and Jazz had one fine pair of audios. Not as good as Soundwave's, but good enough to actually hear the sound of something breaking and being released.

As soon as he heard it, Prowl dry heaved once before he started purging his tank. Half processed energon stained the ground and Jazz couldn't do more than hold him tighter and watch. His hope that it would end soon was broken when Prowl continued to purge his tank in a way that soon had him worried. Because Jazz had the sudden horrifying thought that Prowl had ruptured the valve that kept the energon inside his tank and Jazz didn't know if Prowl was able to stop or if he would continue until there was nothing else left.

He could see the tactician struggle to regain control and sighed in relief when he stopped vomiting all over the forest floor. Jazz caressed one door wing softly, trying to offer some comfort. He'd never purged before, it was something that happened very rarely thanks to regular maintenance, but Ratchet was very vocal on the amount of pain purging could bring… And the damage. Energon was simply not supposed to leave once inside.

Prowl shuddered, one hand weakly grabbing Jazz's arm for support.

"We… we need to move," the Datsun whispered while struggling to get up.

Jazz pulled him into a sitting position and the saboteur knew he was successful only because Prowl was too depleted to move. The sound of jets came above them and Jazz sighed tiredly. Just like he feared, the slagging Cons were still out there.

"We can't leave either, Prowl. Not without a sound plan," he told the SIC, trying to dissuade him from moving when he obviously had barely enough energy for staying online.

"Fine," Prowl sulked and Jazz would've laughed if Prowl's voice hadn't sounded strained and somewhat filled with static. The energon probably damaged his vocalizer. His optics looked offline, except for a faint blue glow.

Jazz searched through his kit. He almost forgot about this! How could he? He pulled out a small energon converter. Wheeljack had designed it for Jazz's Department and he had ordered the mechs under his command to walk with them subspaced always.

Prowl should have some ten to fifteen minutes before entering statis lock, or worse. Jazz was suddenly glad that Earth was so rich in resources and set to work. He would get Prowl out of this alive. He didn't know how right now, but he was good at improvising if he had to.


	2. Search

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**A/N: **It's taking me longer to update this one. Mainly because Prowl is a non-cooperative bastard. Thanks to all the people that reviewed. Like always, tell me of any mistakes you find and I'll fix them.

"talking"

/comm/

line - Change in POVs. (Red Alert, Jazz, Megatron)

* * *

_**Search**_

Red Alert watched from the monitors as Optimus Prime looked at the mechs assembled for the search and rescue mission. Jazz and Prowl were already two hours behind schedule. And that was already giving them a thirty minute margin in case the Porsche managed to convince Prowl to make a slight detour.

Red Alert was sure that in the rare event that Jazz actually forgot, Prowl would step in and call to tell them they were fine but running late. Traffic had been normal and he had several traffic reports to prove it. In his processor there was no doubt that something had happened to them. They were probably already deactivated and he was already going over the changes that had to be made before the information both mechs carried was accessed.

He watched as his leader transformed and rolled out. The Arks warriors following him and Red Alert sighed. He wished they had taken more mechs with them on that fateful mission four million years ago. The Ark was currently running on a skeleton crew and it made Red Alert slightly more paranoid than usual. He only hoped Jazz and Prowl were found alive. It would make the incoming headache worth it.

* * *

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now he wasn't so sure. Jazz would've felt better if he'd been able to feed Prowl some high grade to raise his energy levels. Unfortunately, Prowl had purged that too. And after an agonizing session of trial and error, Prowl had managed to contain the lowest grade of energon Jazz had ever tasted.

The Porsche grimaced, looking at the various shades of pink splattered on the forest floor. Hound was going to rim him another exhaust port when he got wind of this. Prowl's movements were slow, but Jazz helped the tactician to stand up ignoring the drying pink liquid on his friend's armor.

"I gotcha buddy," he replied as the SIC leaned heavily against him, "We gotta move fast, Prowler. Starscream's still out there which means that Megatron is coming or else they would've torched the place already."

Prowl opened his mouth to answer but only was able to let out some garbled sounds and static. He made a frustrated sound and Jazz chuckled.

"Take it easy. We're gonna be okay. I'll think of something."

Prowl frowned, but this time didn't try to speak and they didn't dare to use their comm lines. Not since learning they were being jammed and most probably monitored to find them. Jazz slowly maneuvered them both around the trees, careful to keep track of the location of the jet engines roaring over them.

In truth, he was beginning to doubt that he'd find a way out of here. At least not with Prowl in his current condition and there was no way he was going to leave without him. Prowl might try to do the logical thing and deactivate himself as an ultimate act of keeping the Ark's secrets safe. No, he was not leaving the Datsun.

His only hope now rested on Red Alert. If he knew his mechs rights, and he'd known Red Alert for quite a while, the other mech should already have a rescue team going after them. Sometimes it was good to have a paranoid mech around.

Prowl was getting heavier with each step, but Jazz would not rest until he put as much distance from their previous resting place as possible. Jammed frequencies only meant one thing. Soundwave. And wherever he went he brought with him his cassettes.

Prowl tensed, doorwings already held high in distress, twitching. The Datsun barely had time to turn his head away from the saboteur before he purged again. Jazz felt like crying in despair, but had to settle for slowly caressing the doorwings. Anything to make the pain a little more bearable.

"Okay, Prowl. I'm gonna help ya sit down and I'll make some more energon for ya. Seems like your body can stand it until it's halfway processed, but that's better than the high grade I gave ya earlier," Jazz spoke softly as he worked to keep his friend alive. He couldn't loose Prowl to this…

* * *

Megatron arrived to see his Seekers doing as ordered. He was mildly surprised, but preferred to not make a comment now. Today he needed Starscream to cooperate. The blow to the Autobots will be big. It will probably ensure their victory on this planet.

/_Finally!_ I was beginning to think _you_ were never going to make it. Of course, _I _could've taken them out already if it weren't for _your_ orders, _oh mighty Megatron_./

Or maybe Starscream could go to the Pit… But not now. Now, was the time to concentrate on what's important. Destroying Prime's second and third in command and taking the information they have stored. Soundwave stood at his side, like always, and already surveying the terrain.

"What do you suggest, Soundwave?" the silver mech asked, loud enough for his second to hear, and smiled in satisfaction at the angry screech from the Seeker. Just because he wasn't going to slag the glitch now didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with him.

"Suggestion: Use Ravage to find and bring Autobots intact. Information preserved. Easier to take," was the monotoned reply.

Megatron nodded. He really wouldn't mind to send a gestalt to flatten the entire organic forest, but Soundwave was right. The better condition a mech was in, the better the information that could be extracted from them.

"Fine. Send Ravage, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw after them. They should be enough to comb the forest. And keep the Autobot's frequency jammed. We don't want them calling for help now," Megatron ordered while at the same time using his comm to finish giving orders to the rest of the Decepticons who were surrounding the area.

Beside him, Soundwave nodded, pushing the release button on his shoulder, "Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage: Eject. Operation: Search and capture."

The three Cassetticons unfolded and didn't even glance at Soundwave. They already knew what was required of them. Ravage ran soundlessly, getting lost quickly in the many shadows of the forest. The two bird-like mechs followed the black panther closely.

Megatron allowed a satisfied smile to grace his lip components. Soon, the Autobots will fall.

* * *

_Edited: 2/15/09_


	3. Salvation

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**A/N: **So this is the last chapter. It took me too long to post this one, but I wasn't happy with what I had written so I kept changing it. Hope my attempt at action is successful. Thanks to all the people that reviewed. Like always, tell me of my mistakes and I'll fix them as soon as possible.

"talking"

/comm/

* * *

_**Salvation**_

Ravage almost scoffed at the clumsy trail the Autobot had left behind. One, if not the two of them, was seriously injured. He surveyed the scene, concentrating on the energon splattered all over the forest floor, It was already dried which meant it had been a while since they left. The smell of the half processed fuel made him grimace in disgust.

/Why aren't we moving? There's nothing here,/ cried Buzzsaw impatiently and Ravage cycled air to keep from starting a discussion with the other flying mech. This was one of the reasons he preferred working alone.

/You can go ahead of me, Buzzsaw. It's not like the trail is hard to find,/ Ravage replied, a mechanical sound a human might compare to a growl the only sign he found the two flying cassettes annoying.

/Kind of disappointing, really,/ -commented Laserbeak from his perch, /I was expecting more of a challenge from them./

/You're only saying that because they're injured,/ Buzzsaw replied, /You wouldn't be so eager to hunt them down if they were healthy./

Laserbeak squawked angrily and looked as if he was about to attack Buzzsaw for his words. The yellow cassette taunted the red one by laughing.

/Stop that right now. You can both kill each other when the mission is completed,/ Ravage interrupted, /Buzzsaw search west. Laserbeak, search east. I'll follow the trail and see where it leads me./

/Why don't the three of us follow the trail?/ Laserbeak asked curiously.

/I wouldn't be surprised if it was a trap,/ the black panther-like cassette replied and melted into the shadows of the forest.

The two flying cassettes didn't say anything else as they left in the direction Ravage had sent them.

* * *

"Ya know what I'll do after we get out of here, Prowler?" the voice of the saboteur the only thing breaking the unnatural silence of the forest.

Prowl was propped up on Jazz's side. They were nearing the edge of the forest and Jazz still hadn't found a suitable plan for him and Prowl to escape. The Datsun was, second by second, getting worse and Jazz feared that Prowl would slip away from him. The thought made his fuel pump falter and his spark hurt and he concentrated on the sound Prowl's systems made to reassure himself the other black and white was still online.

Prowl didn't answer. He couldn't answer and Jazz was painfully aware of that. He wasn't expecting any answer. He wasn't talking to get any answer.

"Well, first I'll take ya to Ratchet. But that doesn't count," Jazz continued, "the first thing I'll do is go t' the wash racks. I've got branches where branches ain't supposed t' be."

Jazz made a show of pulling a tree branch stuck in between armor plates. He could feel Prowl's door wings twitch and a slight movement of the SIC's body told him he'd succeeded in making the other laugh.

Jazz glanced at the energon converter that was just finishing filling a low grade cube. With a tired sigh, Jazz maneuvered the Datsun to lie in his arms without damaging his door wings. Jazz admitted that gathering the other in his arms without causing damage to his door wings felt… familiar… good… In a way he could not exactly explain and did not care to discover the meaning of.

"Okay, Prowler. I know you're getting tired of all this, but drink it all," Jazz spoke softly, as he took the cube in his hands and positioned it on Prowl's lip components.

Prowl didn't have the strength to drink from the cube anymore, but by now Jazz had enough experience in feeding the other black and white and only the minimum amount of energon was spilled.

Prowl took the saboteur's hand and gave it a weak squeeze and that was all Jazz needed to get in motion. He carefully pulled the Datsun on his feet again and slowly started to move again. The Porsche knew that though he couldn't leave the forest, it wasn't wise to stay in one place too long.

* * *

"Any word, Soundwave?" the grey mech asked, the scowl on his face getting more pronounced.

"Autobots approaching," the cassette holder replied.

Megatron turned his red optics on the blue mech, "What?"

Soundwave congratulated himself on not hesitating. The last thing he wanted was for the Decepticon leader to vent his anger on him.

"Autobot signal getting stronger."

"And you chose to tell me this now!" Megatron cried and Soundwave stood his ground. It would do nothing if he cowered now. Lucky for him, Megatron had other things to worry about.

/Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet, go and meet the incoming Autobots head on. Starscream, back them up./

/WHAT? What about the ones in the forest?/ screeched the Air Commander over the comm line making more than one mech flinch at the painfully annoying voice.

/That doesn't concern _you_, Starscream. After all, the cassettes have a better track record in _succeeding _on their missions than _you_,/ Megatron taunted the Seeker.

Starscream's cry of outrage could be heard all over the forest as he flew away to fight the Autobots.

* * *

They took Jazz by surprise. The two fraggers were silent due to their ability to fly. The fact that he was concentrated in helping Prowl walk only gave them more advantage. Buzzsaw's mortar cannons got the Porsche's side.

Jazz's cry of pain was drowned under a familiar Seeker's scream of outrage. The saboteur tried to keep Prowl from hitting the ground, but Laserbeak made his presence known by firing on his newest injury with his trademark ruby powered lasers.

Jazz was familiar to pain, but nothing in the world hurt as much as hearing Prowl's body hit the ground and the strangled cry that escaped the tactician's damaged vocalizer. The two mechanical birds were crying in victory over him and Jazz's anger grew.

He activated his flamethrower, using it on the cassettes circling above him and Prowl. The two cassettes were forced to fly higher, the use of such weapon making the nearby trees catch fire.

Jazz cursed inwardly, optics looking at Prowl. The tactician had maybe fifteen minutes before his tank rebelled again. Jazz's injury made itself known and the Porsche turned off the pain receptors on that area. His right side armor had been ruptured by Buzzsaw's cannons and the other cassette's lasers had melted the circuitry inside.

The fire that he caused was spreading and Jazz knew he needed to get away from there as soon as possible. Smoke was very bad for their air intakes. He managed to stand and was about to turn and help Prowl up, when the tactician fired his acid pellets.

An angry cry came from above him and Jazz looked up to see Laserbeak retreating. The erratic flying of the cassette proof of being injured.

"Prowl!" Jazz cried when the tactician slumped to the ground. His spark felt cold. He took a step forward when there was another cry above him. Buzzsaw…

The cassette used his cannons again. He knew the Autobot would not make the mistake of using the flamethrower again. The golden cassette wasn't like Laserbeak either. He won't be fooled in to thinking they were too damaged to fight back.

Jazz used his own body to shield Prowl. It didn't matter to him that the cassette was probably going after him instead of going to the injured tactician.

The shots hit him, this time rupturing the armor plating on his arm, near the shoulder joint. Jazz cried, stumbling back. He couldn't fall. He couldn't let them get Prowl. He couldn't loose him. He'd already lost so much. Not Prowl. But Prowl wasn't moving… What if…

With a cry that startled the cassette, Jazz had his photon rifle out and fired. Buzzsaw dodged expertly and dove ready to rip the armor off the Autobot with his own beak.

There was the sound of a weapon fired and Buzzsaw's screech of pain filled the air. The force of the shot making the cassette crash against the nearby trees. Jazz's optics weren't on Buzzsaw. Instead, he was staring at Prowl in shock, the reprimand for using so much energy died on his lip components as his optics could barely make out the quadruped form lunging on his friend's back.

It was mostly some sort of automatic program that made him turn on his famous light show. The black panther-like mech growled, the sensitivity to light making it difficult for him to stay holding on to the injured Autobot's doorwing with his teeth. Ravage shook his head with all the strength he had, metallic teeth tearing into the right doorwing, before the dizzying and painful attack of that insufferable Autobot got the best of him and he was forced to let go.

Blindingly, the black cassette shot his missiles before running to Soundwave. The heat seeking missiles barely missing Jazz and exploding behind him on the fire he had caused earlier. The impact sent Jazz crashing to the floor, and his visor filled with static.

His last thought process was a small prayer to Primus that somehow Prowl was saved. He failed so badly at protecting the mech he lo… At protecting his best friend. He stopped believing in Primus long ago, but maybe he still had enough faith left for a miracle to happen.

* * *

His visor came to life and flickered a couple of times before staying on. Where was he?

"Glad to see you awake, Jazz."

"Doc?" Jazz replied wearily, turning his head to look at the white and red mech.

Ratchet's tired but caring face met him. It was rare when the medic let his guard down long enough for one of his patients to notice. Not that they ever doubted Ratchet's dedication to his job, but they were more familiar to the mech insulting them to hide his worry over their health.

His processor finally caught up with him and Jazz sat up, optics searching and finding no one else but him on the medbay. His energon froze in his fuel lines and his spark felt like breaking.

"First Aid and Swoop are cleaning him. Slagger doesn't even know how close he was to offlining," Ratchet said as he helped Jazz lay down again.

The Porsche stopped protesting, letting out a shaky laugh, "Damn, Ratch. I thought… I was so sure…"

"So did all of us. When we got to you two I feared there was nothing I could do for him," Ratchet confided and Jazz could see how hard it was for the medic to admit that.

"That was five days ago. I kept you in stasis while we worked on him."

Jazz winced, "That bad?"

Ratchet snorted, "Replacing the valve was the easy part. Fixing all the damage purging makes was the hard part. And by the looks of it, he purged more than once."

The medic gave him a look,"Someone's repairs and perseverance do deserve a commendation."

"I dunno…"

"Well, if you hadn't repaired him and kept him energized, Prowl wouldn't have made it. Now, sweet dreams Jazz"

"What?" Jazz's surprised question was followed by his visor turning off as Ratchet sent him into a forced recharge.

* * *

Edited: 2/15/09


	4. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**A/N:** A little epilogue of sorts. Tell me of any mistakes you find and I'll fix them as soon as possible.

"talking"

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

Jazz's repairs were done that same day and, by the afternoon, Ratchet had unceremoniously kicked him out of the medbay. It would be another two days until Prowl was released. Ratchet wanted to be perfectly sure that everything was working correctly. A mech learned to measure how close he's been to dying by the amount of time Ratchet let you stay in the medbay. Prowl's seven days of stay was enough to sober up any mech.

Unfortunately, Jazz was out on patrol when Prowl was released and had been recharging when the Porsche had arrived. Jazz was dying to see his best buddy. If only to reassure himself that Prowl was truly alright. The last time he'd seen him he was offline, covered in energon and Ravage had taken a chunk of his right door wing. He forced himself to recharge, making a note to online early and join Prowl for his morning energon.

In the end, Jazz hadn't been able to recharge, but that didn't stop him from getting up early. He didn't stop to think why he headed for the washracks or why he felt like using the good wax he saved for special occasions. He was feeling good. The sun was shining and he was going to see his Prowler and annoy the living slag out of the Datsun. Jazz figured the tactician owed him after scaring him like that.

He had enough time to lean casually on the wall when Prowl stepped out of his room. Jazz let out a loud whistle, "Looking good Prowler."

The Datsun glared at him and Jazz grinned. Prowl was already used to such antics, but he couldn't help but add the customary comment as he approached the Porsche, "I do not know why do you insist on calling me that. My name is Prowl."

The saboteur chuckled, optics studying his friend. His right door wing was a little straighter and held slightly higher than the other one. And the normal soft pitch was a little out of tune. But Prowl was there and that was all that mattered.

"Are you feeling alright, Jazz?" the tactician asked as he peered into the other black and white's visor. Jazz laughed nervously and took a step back. It unnerved him how Prowl could make him feel out of control.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just happy to see you in one piece after that little adventure of ours."

Prowl made a noncommittal sound and Jazz continued, "I know I failed in savin' ya. I pretty much went into stasis after getting' Ravage off of ya."

Prowl's hand covered the saboteur's mouth, making Jazz blink. Once he was sure the Porsche would remain quiet Prowl removed his hand. Only to make a gesture as he started walking. Jazz catching up to him and walking beside him.

"You did not fail me," Prowl said after walking a breem in silence, "I do not know how you could believe that, Jazz, when in fact, I owe my life to you."

Jazz scoffed, "You pretty much got rid of the cassettes by yer own."

"True," Prowl replied, "but you kept me energized. Your voice was the only thing that kept me going when the pain was too much."

Jazz felt his spark constrict painfully. He looped his arms around Prowl's arm and declared cheerfully, "That's what friends are for, Prowler."

Prowl sighed before entering the rec room to get his morning energon. Jazz was healthy and happy. That was all he needed to know.

"Yeah, that's what friends are for."

* * *

_Edited: 2/15/09_


End file.
